New York declares state of emergency over monkeypox

Washington, Jul 29 (EFE).- New York state declared a state of emergency on Friday amid an increase in monkeypox cases in recent days, especially in New York City.

“After reviewing the latest data on the monkeypox outbreak in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak,” Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond. It’s especially important to recognize the ways in which this outbreak is currently having a disproportionate impact on certain at-risk groups,” she added.

New York state has among the highest rates of transmission of the disease in the US and had recorded 1,383 cases as of Friday, according to the order declaring the state disaster emergency.

The declaration of the state of emergency authorizes state agencies to allocate funds and resources towards fighting the disease.

In mid-July, New York launched a text notification system to receive alerts about the virus and new appointment openings by texting “MONKEYPOX” or “MONKEYPOXESP” to a local phone number (81336).

The messages include information on the symptoms and transmission of the disease as well as guidelines for action after exposure.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has recommended that the JYNNEOS vaccine, approved to prevent both monkeypox and smallpox, be administered to all at-risk groups.

These include people who have had close physical contact with an infected person, whose sexual partner was diagnosed with monkeypox, or those who have had sexual intercourse at a location where a monkeypox outbreak has been identified. EFE

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